thinking of changing from straw to woodshavings

[Sarah04]

Hi I am thinking of changing from straw bedding to rubber matting and woodshavings as im thinking woodshavings maybe easier when mucking out as one of my ponies mixes all his poo with his straw and i find it quite heavy to lift when wet,its a big stable and i give him a really big fluffy bed (free straw on our farm). Is there any makes of rubber matting which are better than others? Is it easier to clean out? On average how many bales of wood shaving would one horse go through a week, stabled 8pm till 8am. Any advise appreciated. Thank you

 

[chestnut cob]

I use rubber mats and shavings in a 12ft x 16ft stable, so quite big. The back section of the stable has heavy mats down, the ones with a drainage pattern on the underneath and pimple pattern on top. They stay down in place all winter and I only take them up in the spring once they go out 24/7, for a proper clean underneath. The shavings bed covers most of these mats, and is maybe 12ft across in width and 5ft in depth. I don't have a huge bed and only use banks to store fresh shavings on - stable is so big with my little horse that banks have no effect whatsoever. I semi deep litter the bed, so if they go out every day I take the wet out once a week when I put a fresh bale in, or if they're in for a lot of the time (worst of the winter), I take the wet out twice. The bed is clean on top so he isn't standing on wee.

The rest of the stable is covered with cow mats which are light and easy to move around to clean underneath - he always gets hay under them, so they are lifted most days so I can sweep underneath. I bought those mats from a friend who bought them cheap from a farm sale.

My bed is probably about 5 bales to start off, then usually one per week. During the worst, wettest part of winter when they are in a lot, he might need one extra bale every 3 weeks. However, he's on 15hh and VERY clean. The bigger horses tend to need 1.5 - 2 bales a week.

 

[diamonddogs]

You might like to consider chopped straw as well. I pay £5.85 per bale and use 2-3 a week as opposed to 5-6 bales of straw. And it smells gorgeous.

I think it works on the same principle as shavings, but I didn't get on with shavings as my mare would look like a welfare case in a dirty bed after a few hours. I think they seem softer too than shavings.

 

[Sarah04]

Ive just mesured the stable its 15 foot by 15 foot, i only put straw down in half of this as he rarely goes on the concrete bit. Hes a 14.1 newforest and my shetland is in a stable half the size and has straw on the whole floor area. Unfortuntely the floors slope (years ago were used for pigs so little hole where wee drains out) so if my ponies wee in the middle or back it runs down so hence alot of staw and alot of lugging wet straw about! Chopped straw sounds lovely but think my partner may kill me spending £18 a week on straw when we have loads of bales on the farm! They could probably both live out now but they are my first ponies and ive got into the routine of bringing in on a night and they are waiting at gate for there tea! I have no field shelter if it chucks it down in night unless i put lightweight rugs on but dont want them to cook either! Sorry its all so new to me!

 

[Gift Horse]

I currently use shavings.
I semi deep litter, the stable has a concrete floor and I prefer a compacted base layer of shavings to rubber mats which I don't get on with( I find them heavy & smelly!). I use 5 bags of shavings to establish the bed and then I use a bag a week to maintain it. I take the muck out daily and remove some wet shavings as and when to keep the base even. I really like this method I find it easy and economical and the bed is deep and dry.

 

[shannonandtay]

If you get the straw fee it's a shame to change, my stable also slopes so the wee tends to run to the front of the stable. I put some shavings down underneath the bed and a little at the front to soak up the wee, it does work and isnt nearly as dirty or smelly.

 

[Fides]

If you want something easy have you considered wood chippings like 'laysoft'? Works like shavings but as they are a bit heavier they fall through the work easier when you are mucking out and makes it so much easier...

 

[PorkChop]

I agree that I would stick to straw it if were free/cheap tbh.

If you go down the rubber matting route, then get a decent thickness of mat and take the time to fit it tightly, it makes all the difference, I rarely need to take up my mats.

My friend goes to the local sawmill and gets sawdust free. If it were me I would mat the stable, use a small amount of sawdust for soaking up the wee and then however much straw you want on top.

It won't be cheap but it is definitely labour saving, I personally use Miscanthus bedding.